


dead weight

by netherfriends



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Huey Duck Needs a Hug, Huey Duck wants to be Perfect, Huey-centric, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Older Sibling Huey Duck, but can be read without thinking that, huey puts a lot of stress onto himself, huey represses his emotions and who he is, well it's implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26601475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/netherfriends/pseuds/netherfriends
Summary: huey was being forgotten, he realized.ORin which huey feels useless and forgotten, and he so desperately wants to be perfect.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	1. some things just stick in your mind

**Author's Note:**

> i heavily based writing huey like off of ocd so you can think of him of having that while reading this. although you can also choose not to.

Huey was being forgotten, he realized all at once. He had tried holding it back, tried not to say anything when they sometimes forgot he was even there during adventures until he spoke up about something he had memorized from the Junior Woodchuck Guide book. I mean, the adventures they went on were so action packed and they had been too focused on trying to escape the spider monster to realize that one of the nephews were lagging behind right..? Surely that didn't mean he was being forgotten.

So what if they hadn't even bothered to ask Huey if he wanted to go on an adventure until after they came back laughing and carrying treasure. Didn't mean anything! They were just so excited and got distracted. Besides, Huey would never have wanted to go with them anyway.

Of course, upon realizing how much he had been avoiding the problem. (Him, he was the problem.) He had stopped right in the middle of the trail he and the rest of the family were following. The rest of the family were already too far ahead when they realized the red duck was missing. Webby had run back to where he was, shaking him out of his thoughts with a breezy laugh.

"Oh sorry Huey! Guess we're a bit too fast, eh?" Huey had just nodded blankly and trudged after the others without a word. Even Louie, normally the sibling who would rely on him, stopped talking to him about his problems. Which was fine! Louie needed more people in his life that he could trust! Then why did it hurt so much?

In the early morning though, when everyone was up and no one had bothered to call Huey for breakfast he wanted to scream. He wanted to yell and make a mess because by _god_ he _needed_ to be remembered, he couldn't be _forgotten_! Still he didn't and instead got up and did his daily routine in perfection, and if Huey had felt anything about them having eaten breakfast without him he didn't say anything. Because saying something, that was never a good idea. It was instead a quicker path to being forgotten.

So Huey shut his beak and moved on. After all, they were just pancakes! Making a big deal out of pancakes was immature and childish and and-

Huey was mature and perfect and so he moved on.

And when Huey appeared next to Uncle Scrooge to ask him something he had been startled and laughed saying he hadn't realized he was there. Tears pricked his eyes but he grit his teeth anyway even though Huey had been there the whole time and yet he _still_ hadn't been noticed.

\--

Huey liked checklists. They kept him in control of things, he always knew what to do and when to do it and when it's done. It was nice when he finally checked off the final box, each task done with no struggle. In the small moment he felt perfect, like he had finally achieved something.

(Later though, after Uncle Scrooge had casually pointed out a tiny miscalculation he had done, he threw his clipboard on the ground and ripped up his beautiful checklist that he had spent so much time on. He didn't feel perfect, he felt _useless, useless, useless_.)

\--

Huey didn't know why he always tried to be the older person. While that was technically a lie, (Huey told a lot of lies to himself), he still didn't really know. He was the oldest triplet (just by a couple of minutes) and so he just felt like he had to take that responsibility. It was a part of being perfect, at least in his eyes.

After all, he was the responsible one. The mature one. He took care of the others and always knew what to do. He just _needed_ to push his feelings down if it meant that he could help his siblings, his family. He strives to be perfect, and as far as he was concerned, this was the only way.

\--

Only problem is, if he's supposed to be the mature one, why is he always lashing out? If he's the smart one why is he so clueless, why is he always unable to comprehend any social situation? 

_~~If he's so perfect, then why is everyone forgetting him?~~ _

That day at Mark Beaks enterprises wasn't a pretty one, although Huey hardly remembers much of it. (Which isn't right, he's supposed to be perfect so why can't he remember something so simple-) All he remembers is feeling so useless when _Dewey_ got a better position than him. Which was wrong, so _wrong_! Huey had checklists, he kept things in order, he had memorized _everything_! He was supposed to be perfect, this job was gonna make him _perfect_!

(Somewhere inside of him, Huey knew that that wasn't right, that he wasn't supposed to think like that. And that even if he _had_ gotten the job he wouldn't have been perfect. He has a feeling he never will be.)

Mark Beaks was a jerk though, and a total fake. And they had thrown him off the roof (well, technically they _hadn't_ but it might've been the intent.) He had been uncovered, and yet Huey didn't feel good. Maybe it was just the aftermath of his freakout, or maybe it was the fact that he had believed and put so much trust into a knockoff. Maybe both.

Either way, Huey found himself slipping out of bed, still clutching his pillow. He tried not to wake up any of his siblings, Louie hardly got any sleep as it was and it normally took a long time to get Dewey to settle down. Besides, he didn't want them to freak out over his small problems and think different of him.

He slipped into the bathroom, not even bothering to turn the light on. Tears welled up in his eyes and he did his best to silently cry, stifling every loud noise that would come from him. He had to be perfect, and crying wasn't something a perfect person would do. He scratched at his eyes, trying to claw away the tears that just kept coming and _coming_.

Dammit, was he making too much noise? He swore he heard a creek.

"Huey. . .?"

Quickly, the duck in question hid his face in his pillow as to not show that he had been crying. Dewey swept into the room and threw the light switch on. He hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to Huey. The duck was trembling and sweat was pouring down their back. Gently, Dewey titled the pillow down so Huey was no longer hiding his face in it.

There were tear stains on his face but Huey was still shaking, now rocking back and forth. Dewey understood that, he rocked back and forth too. It felt good to at least know something about what was happening.

Dewey reached out to Huey, maybe to wipe his face off or give a reassuring touch but Huey had shrieked and backed against the wall. He was hyperventilating now, although it seemed as though he wasn't truly in control of his body. Dewey wanted to ask why he had backed away but his brother was having a panic attack and he figured that wouldn't help.

Dewey retreated his hand and instead prompted to rock back and forth as he waited for Huey to become aware again. He desperately wanted to say something but he thought that wouldn't really help.

It was only a couple of minutes although it felt like hours before Huey seemed to calm down well enough. Huey stopped staring at a patch on his hand, something he had been staring at for a while as if in a daze. His eyes widened and instead focused on Dewey's figure. 

"Oh."

And then he was mumbling, really fast. Dewey caught the words 'perfect' being thrown around a couple of times.

"Huey-"

"What just happened? Yeah, that was nothing. Sorry, just me over exaggerating. Heh, heh, nothing's wrong so you can go back to sleep and I'll just wipe my face off-" 

"Huey! Come on, don't just pretend that you're okay!" Dewey reached out his hand again but Huey flinched away again. Dewey stared at his hand, he hadn't even realized he was doing that.

There was a pause, a tension filled silence before Huey mumbled something that Dewey would probably not have caught in they were anywhere else.

"I wish I was okay."

With a sigh, Dewey leaned away from Huey and instead rested his back against the wall. His eyes flitted everywhere in the room, taking in the details of the flower wallpaper. Of the greasy stain covering some of it. The cracks between the tiles that he was sitting on. He didn't know what to do, how to help. Huey always seemed to be so composed, what with his checklists and neat lifestyle. This was new, and he didn't know how to handle it.

Dewey Duck was stuck and he hated it.

But he had to do something or else he was gonna do something irrational. He tried to start with something easy enough. _Why were you crying?_ was out of the question and so was _are you okay?_ or _do you need help?_

"Why did you move away from me?"

Huey blinked, clearly having not expected him to speak.

"I- what?"

Dewey winced but continued nonetheless.

"I went to touch you but you flinched and backed away from me. Why?" He didn't say the question lingering in his mind, _do you hate me? Do you think I'd mess things up even more?_ Dewey knew he could be reckless and careless sometimes but he didn't think that he was that bad. Although Huey always commented on it with an annoyed voice so maybe he did..?

He hoped that wasn't true.

A lump appeared in Huey's throat although he tried to swallow it down. He began patting down the wrinkles in his pajamas, resisting the urge to scratch the tears away from his face so that he could be perfect.

"I..don't deserve. I'm not perfect, so why should you care for me? You're all forgetting me anyway.."

He spoke in a quiet voice but his words rang in Deweys ears loud and clear.

"Perfect..? Hue, _I'm_ not perfect! Louie isn't, hell not even Uncle Scrooge is! And he's the richest duck in the world! Do you think it really matters to us if you're perfect or not?" Dewey almost laughed, although not at Huey.

"No! I'm the oldest, I'm supposed to be mature and responsible and p-perfect- and- and- checklists and routine-" Huey was crying now, he had stood up when he yelled no so Dewey quickly got off the floor to embrace his brother. Although not before checking with the duck.

Huey hid his face into Dewey's chest, his shirt was getting wet with tears but he didn't really care. Louie cracked the door open, blanket wrapped around him tightly. His worried eyes shifted between Huey and Dewey.

'Not now' Dewey mouthed. Louie looked a bit sad but nodded nonetheless and closed the door again.

Hueys sobs turned to quiet whimpers and Dewey pulled away, grabbing some toilet paper to wipe his brother's face. 

"Hey, Hue, can you wash your face?" Huey whimpered and nodded, turning on the facet to splash some water onto his blotchy and tear-dried face. He took a piece of toilet paper and blew his nose into it.

"Do you think you can make it back to bed?"

Huey winced, "c-c-ca-can I sleep with you and Louie tonight?"

"Sure, just don't mind my snoring."

Huey snorted and laughed weakly, "I've been dealing with it for all my life."

Dewey grinned and led Huey out from the bathroom. Louie perked up when he heard them coming and welcomed them into his bed like he was expecting them. Huey sighed, relaxing a little and snuggling into his brothers. Louie curled in Hueys arm while Dewey placed his chin on his head.

And maybe, just maybe, Huey thought before drifting off to sleep. Maybe he wasn't being forgotten.


	2. today today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> huey finally tells the others of what's been happening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha ha, guess who finally updated this as soon as ducktales was confirmed canceled?
> 
> also like sorry for the super long time from the first chapter to this, i got really into dream smp sooo... and this chapter is pretty trash considering the first chapter

Huey doesn't want to tell everyone else, doesn't want to burden them with his stress and worries. After all, he's meant to be the perfect one. He's supposed to not have to feel these things, not be a nuisance-

But no, he's allowed to feel. His brothers have been helping him, especially Dewey. It's just so much more easy to stress and try to fix himself than to actually _heal_. Still, he's trying his best, even if he thinks that his best is not enough.

His brothers have been supportive, and he _knows_ that the rest of his family will also be supportive. They always have been, but Huey can't help thinking this way. He hugs himself, nails digging into the goosebumps on his arms.

"Hue, it's _fine_. You don't even have to do it now, and when has our family ever not been cool?" Huey could think of a couple times, but he knows speaking up might bring down Dewey.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Huey reluctantly let his arms sag down, red crescents dug into his skin as an affect of his constant worrying.

"Of course I am." Dewey grinned, and Huey rolled his eyes. Taking a deep breathe, he turned to Dewey, who only gave him a reassuring look, and then pushed open the doors.

Lena and Webby were talking together, and Uncle Scrooge was talking on a phone with somebody. Huey slipped onto the couch, fiddling with his thumbs. Webby greeted him, before continuing her talk about something. Huey couldn't focus on it.

"Uh, guys..?" Everyone in the room paused, and Scrooge scowled and hung up on the person that he was talking to. When Huey looked at him, he only shrugged.

"A client, he was annoying me. Now what is it, lad?"

Now that all of their attention was on him, he found himself shrinking into the seats of the sofa. He absentmindedly fidgeted with his shirt, avoiding looking at the others curious (and slightly concerned) looks directed at him.

"Well ugh, it's just.." Huey took a deep breath in.

"I have this thing, where I just strive to be perfect and stuff. And you guys don't know sure, but when you just forget about me it makes me feel really bad? And Louie says it's not my fault but I'm not really sure about that? I- uh, sorry for being a bother?" Scrooge laughed, and it made Huey lean away. He did it wrong, and now Scrooge McDuck is laughing at him, because he isn't perfect like he's supposed to be-

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you lad, I promise. Just why didn't you say so before? We hadn't even noticed, and we would have stopped immediately." Scrooge had a glimmer in his eyes.

Webby took his hands in hers and squeezed gently, "It's not your fault at all, it's perfectly fine to be feeling what you're feeling."

Huey looked down, not suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Oh."

"You're fine." Lena reassured him.

Oh. Oh okay. Huey rubbed at the tears gathering at his eyes.

"I can't believe that it was that easy." He felt lighter somehow, like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He gave a watery laugh.

"Thank you guys, so much."

They all smiled at him.

\--

"Well?" Dewey tapped his foot, waiting for Huey to answer.

"It was that easy."

"Told ya!" Huey was in a daze it seemed, unable to comprehend what had just happened, if it really had. A grin spread across Huey's face.

He finally had people who accepted him, no matter what. And it feels so _great_ , compared to all the negative feelings he had felt when he was going through it all alone. Now he wasn't alone, now it could be better.

He had hope. In himself, and in his family.


	3. don't walk, for the road is bumpy and broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> huey's mom is home, and he starts to fall apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finally finished this, after a long time. i definitely don't like it, but i wrote the first chapter when i was hyperfixating over ducktales. go check out my other stuff (dream smp) because i'm actually focusing on that and it's way better written than this.

Della is _here_. _The_ Della. The one he had heard about, had been told stories about. He had seen pictures, longing for the ability to reach out and hug her. But he had grown comfortable in his life without her.

Of course, he never liked change. It caused him to have to adapt, and change, and it threw everything off. Like a tower he built that finally topped down.

And now she was here in the flesh, older looking than before and with a robotic leg. Her arms out, waiting for hugs. But instead the room was frozen, the triplets staring at the person who introduced herself as their mom.

Slowly, Della let her arms drop, a hurt expression crossing her face.

Louie hugged himself, inching closer to his brothers with a wary expression. Huey could understand that, he was confused and stressed and honestly freaked out. His mind was working a mile a second, trying to catch up with what was happening.

"Della?" Dewey whispered, the name of a ghost. 

"It's me kids! Jet, Turbo, Rebel, your momma's finally home!" Jet? Was he supposed to be Jet? Is that what Della wanted, for him to be Jet? Oh god, she's probably so disgusted with him, for who he became. Not at all like she wanted.

"That's not our names." Louie spoke up, his voice quiet and scared.

Huey was hyperventilating, and he could tell that Louie was close to breaking, and that Dewey was only barely holding it in for the sake of Della. Oh god, their _mother_.

He took Louie, and locked them both in the first bathroom Huey could come across. Louie was shaking, and Huey himself was trembling a bit. He tugged at his hair, pulling Louie closer to try and calm them both down.

Della is in the next room, wondering why her sons had ran away from her, probably confused on what was happening. Huey's breath hitched, and he quickly rubbed at his face. This couldn't be _happening_. Huey had always wanted to meet her, but accepting that she was dead was so much easier. And now, he just couldn't take it at all. 

There was a knock on the door (it was Dewey's, he always knocked the same way) and with fumbling fingers Huey unlocked the door so that the blue triplet could stumble in. 

"God, my head hurts. It's like it's screaming at me, thoughts moving too fast for me to understand. _She's here_ , and I always wanted her to, but now it's all too surreal-" Dewey hid his face in his legs. Slapping his knees in the way he did whenever he was agitated or anxious.

He could hear yelling in the other room, and the noise made Dewey clamp his hands over his ears, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Louie fisted the fabric of Huey's shirt, digging his face into the red. He was crying, Huey realized. He hadn't noticed, but Louie always cried quietly.

Dewey cried out, and Huey knew he would start pounding his head on the wall next. Huey dragged Dewey closer, tucking the younger (by a couple minutes) under his arm. Dewey wrapped himself around Huey, most likely trying to drown out the sounds of yelling.

The three cried, until the yelling subsided, and the only sound left was silence.

"I was supposed to be Jet, wasn't I? Would she be happier if I was Jet?" Huey whispered, his whole exterior messy. He felt sick, like he wanted to vomit. His mind was screaming at him, and it hurt.

"You're not Jet, don't be Jet. I like Huey." Louie said, voice hoarse.

Dewey nodded from beside him.

Huey stared at the light from above, eyes hurting from how bright it was but not moving away. 

"We need to talk to her, don't we?"

Huey flinched, "Yeah."

"I don't want to."

Dewey sighed, "Me neither."

After a while, it could be hours, or just a couple minutes, Louie finally got up. He stretched, sore from sitting on the uncomfortable floor for so long.

"We better do it now, the more I wait the more anxious I get." The other two stood, Dewey keeping a steady hold on him when he stumbled. They peaked out the hallway, only coming across Webby. It was safe then, and the three made their way over to the girl.

"Oh wow, your mom's here. That's..oh wow." Webby fidgeted, and then took in their puffy eyes and red faces.

"I mean, I can hide you. I know all the secret places here-"

"It's fine Webby, thank you." Huey waved her off, giving the girl a grateful smile for trying to help.

Webby nodded, "Okay, okay. Good luck."

\--

"Scrooge, what's happening? My kids _ran_ from me! What the heck, what did you do to them? Why are they acting like this?" Della was both annoyed and concerned, crossing her arms and looking at her uncle expectantly. 

"Della, dear, it's been a long time since you've been gone-" 

"But I'm here now! So what's the problem?" Della snapped, growling at the other duck and just so confused.

Scrooge looked annoyed, which was understandable.

"Della! They've changed, you didn't see them grow up, they're their own people and they lived their whole life without you. You think they'll just accept you with open arms when they don't even know you?!"

" _Yes_ , I'm their mother."

Della looked down the hallway, to where they ran off.

"Jet, Turbo, Rebel-"

"Huey, Dewey, and Louie." Scrooge corrected her.

Della became even more confused and annoyed, "What!? No, I picked out their names! What the- did Donald change them? That jerk-"

"Della! They're not your property!" Scrooge put a hand on her shoulder.

Della let out a breath, sighing. "I know, just please, I still don't _understand_." The energy left Scrooge, and instead he just looked tired. He led her to a couch, where they both sat down. Scrooge rubbed his temple with a sigh.

"The kids, they're unique. Huey, well we've been helping him, but he has this thing where he over fixates on trying to be perfect, and it ends up being a problem. You appearing disrupted the process we created, not that we aren't glad that you're here, it's just gonna hard for the kids to understand.

Dewey has been obsessed for you for a while, and now you're here and it's hard for him to process things. Louie's just really scared, he doesn't know what to do. _Della_ , please try to understand. They thought you were dead for years, they've grown up and they're not gonna come rushing into your arms. They don't know you as a mother, they only know you as the person who abandoned them." Della winced, avoiding Scrooge's gaze.

"Should I not have come..?"

"No, no. You just have to take in account of how they are feeling."

Della noticed the kids standing in the doorway, all looking small and scared.

"Hey, kids." She said gently, watching as they stepped into the room, looking at her weirdly. They bundled together on the couch, pointedly leaving a lot of room between them and her.

"I- I'm sorry. This is probably going to be a lot, I know." Della looked at Scrooge for reassurance, and found confidence when he urged for her to continue. 

"I don't understand what I'm supposed to do, I've never been- I've never been a mother before. And you've never had one before. We're both confused, and I just want to be able to help in any way I can."

Louie sighs, "Fine. Just don't expect much at first, okay?"

Della flinched.

"You've missed out on a lot," Huey said in a softer voice.

Della nods, ducking her head.

"I'm- I'm open to trying." Dewey spoke up, and Della grinned, feeling a little bit better about the situation.


End file.
